Today's Opinions

On Dec. 23, the Las Vegas Police Officers Association conducted a toy drive where off-duty officers, family members and volunteers were able to distribute toys and jackets throughout the city. The officers along with Santa drove around neighborhoods and handed toys to children who were in the area. This was all made possible by the generous donations made by several businesses and individuals.

This column first appeared two years ago, on Jan. 7, 2011, when Nuestra Historia was introduced with the hope of bringing to life the history of our area. We said we would focus on the social, cultural and political milestones — sometimes tumultuous — which have made Las Vegas and San Miguel County a very special and singular place.

The Staten Island (N.Y.) Advance on the National Rifle Association and the gun industry (Dec. 31) — The National Rifle Association claims putting guns in the hands of more people is the way to deal with mass shootings in America. It says only good guys with guns can stop bad guys with guns.
Such was the shameful response of the NRA, one of the nation’s most powerful political lobbying groups, to the Dec. 14 slaughter of 20 first graders and six adults in Newtown, Conn.

With new years come fresh perspectives, at least in optimistic minds. Here are a few of our hopes for the new year:

We hope the Castañeda Hotel’s purchase comes off without a hitch and its renovation pumps new energy into the Railroad and New Town districts. This imposing edifice from the olden days of East Las Vegas is long overdue for a massive makeover, and we’re hopeful that buyer Sloane McFarland makes the best of it. May he have strong community support in his efforts.

The seasons are confused. Where else would we the people lengthen the day, under something called Daylight Saving Time, when each day is already getting longer?

Similarly, we shorten days that are already on their way to being abbreviated.

And we play a lot with the presumed ending times. Well, I’m still here, as I assume most of you are, possibly to the disappointment of the Mayans, who told us the world was about to end a couple of weeks ago. Imagine the embarrassment of some who may have believed the end was to be the next day.

For this final edition for 2012, we didn’t go by our usual template. Instead of ranking the top 10 stories of the year, as we’ve done through most of the 2000s, we created an entire year-in-review section that includes a narrative, written by our managing editor, encompassing the biggest stories in no particular order. We hope you’ll find it an enjoyable and informative read.

Of course this isn’t very creative — pundits far and wide love to spell out our future with the onset of each new year — but indulge me anyway, as I offer up some predictions of my own:

Weather will continue to be a big story in 2013 — internationally, nationally and locally. Across the nation, there will be lots of extreme weather events: killer tornadoes in the South, superstorms along the eastern coastlines and oppressive heat and drought all over. An angry god won’t be the cause of it all; the onset of climate change will.